


Stormy Fears

by MagicalMysteryGirl



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes Is a Good Bro, Ceiling Vent Clint Barton, Couch Cuddles, Darcy knows what's up, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Lightning - Freeform, Phobias, Thor loves storms, Thunder - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-31
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-09 11:23:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11668134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicalMysteryGirl/pseuds/MagicalMysteryGirl
Summary: Darcy has long since learned to accept that she has a fear of thunder. However, when you live in a Tower full of heroes with real fears (like alien invasions, being kidnapped and tortured, brainwashing and Ragnorok of all things), fear of a little storm seems a little ridiculous.When Steve finds her attempting to whether the storm outside (pun totally intended), he shares that just because they fear the big things doesn't mean they don't fear ridiculous things as well. Who knew Tony was terrified of butterflies? And what sort of 'ridiculous' fear does Captain America hide?





	Stormy Fears

Lightning flashed and briefly lit up the dark commons area, Darcy squeezed her eyes shut and counted softly to herself, “1…2…3…4…5…6…7” the loud CRACK and BOOM raddled the Tower windows and she flinched. Apparently counting didn’t make it better, “Thor, man, I love you but make the thunder stop. Please for the love of Zeus, _please_ make it stop,” she muttered to herself as she pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders. There would be no sleep for her until the storm was over.

“Are you alright Ms. Lewis?” JARVIS’s automated voice asked her softly a few seconds later.

She bit her lip as another flash of lighting lit the skyline of New York. On any other given day or night she would find the view spectacular and amazing, but tonight it was just… “I’m fine J,” Darcy answered, “Just not a fan of thunder storms is all.”

“Is there anyone you would like me to alert to your distress?”

Darcy shook her head frantically, a surge of panic spearing her chest, “No! no, no, that’s…I’m okay, thank you.”

It’s not that she didn’t trust her fellow Avengers Tower occupants, but she didn’t need them to know that she was scared of a little thunder and lighting. She was Lightning Sisters with Thor for heaven’s sake, she shouldn’t be scared of a little storm.  Really, in a tower full of people who faced the worst the world (and sometimes the Universe) had to offer, storms seemed a bit small on the scale of bad things to be scared of.

Of course, thinking about it now she was kind of glad her worst fear was thunderstorms rather than something worse like alien invasions (Tony), her crazy brother bringing said alien invasion to destroy his favorite mortal planet(Thor), reverting to a superninjassassin(Natasha), mind control(Clint), Dark Elves/the Aether(Jane), exploding(Pepper), yourself(Bruce), or being frozen in ice (Steve and Bucky). Really storms were a simple thing to fear, but sometimes, like now—she jumped as another roll of thunder echoed around the Tower—it was just down right terrifying.

“Darcy?” a warm, low voice startled her out of her musings.

Turning around instinctively at the familiar and comforting voice of one of her closest friends in the tower, Darcy was unsurprised to find Steve watching her from across the room, a look of concern on his face. “Uh,” she fumbled for something to say that would explain why she was up at—a quick glance to the clock revealed the time—2:17 in the morning, and settled for simply raising a hand to wave a little, “Hey Steve.”

Silent feet moved Steve further into the commons living area and she watched through the very dimly lit darkness as his eyes searched her face, “Everything alright?” he asked softly as he drew near.

“Uh-huh, yep, right as ra—“ the crack of thunder made her jump so badly her word was stilted, “in,” she finished with a squeak. She shut her eyes in embarrassment and pulled the blanket around her up to cover all of her face but her eyes.

She felt more than saw him come to a stop next to her solitary chair, “Somehow I don’t think I believe you,” while she heard faint tones of amusement in his voice, it was covered by his sympathy and concern. She opened one eye to peer up at him. Sure enough his focus was entirely on her, “The storm?” he inquired gently.

Darcy shook her head negatively to try and deny it but her body betrayed her with a whimper when more lightning lit the space around them. She curled in on herself as she braced for the thunder that would surly follow, her grip tightened around her knees as she pulled them closer to her chest. She did her best to bury her face in her knees with her eyes squeezed shut as if to block the sound she knew would follow. Sure enough, the thunder that came startled her so badly she let out a yelp and nearly jumped out of her skin.

“Whoa, hey,” Steve’s voice broke through her fear and prodded at her mental walls as if offering warmth and support. A hand fell on her shoulder and without thought she flinched away, “Darcy, it’s okay,” he pulled his hand back and she thought maybe he’d leave; the thought didn’t make her feel any better. She heard him give a sigh and shift a little next to her before suddenly an arm was around her shoulders while another slid under her legs. Gravity seemed to quit for a moment as she felt herself being lifted from her warm, safe chair and into warm, strong, familiar arms.

Blinking a few times to clear her vision of the water that had gathered in her eyes, Darcy lifted her head to look up at Steve just as he began the decent into her chair, this time with her curled up in his lap, “I’m sorry,” she murmured, trying desperately to pull herself together. She allowed a lot of people to see a lot of sides of herself, but this was one she never wanted anyone to see, especially the object of her not-so-platonic feelings, “I don’t mean to keep you up,” she started to shift around to stand up, but Steve’s arms tightened their grip on her and simply pulled her closer to his broad chest.

“You’re trembling,” his words were quietly surprised and his lips moved lightly against the crown of her head, “The storm is really getting to you.”

She lifted one of her trembling hands and swiped at a stray tear, “It’s just a lame fear I’ve had since I was little,” her voice went up an octave as lighting flashed around them again, “I know it’s stupid,” she shook her head, trying not to think about just how easy it would be to turn and press her face against Steve’s neck.

“It’s not stupid,” Steve disagreed sounding firm, his voice almost making her feel ridiculous for even suggesting such a thing, “Everyone has something they fear, storms are a valid fear,” his arms shifted around until she was cuddled close to his chest, making her feel small and oddly comforted by being held by someone so much larger than her. The thunder echoed a second later and her reticence to give in and bury her face in the juncture between his neck, shoulder and chest flew out the window.

Moving closer and shifting a little in his lap, Darcy tried to block out the world around her until she felt Steve’s hand lift from around her shoulders to card lightly through her hair, “It’s alright Darcy,” he soothed, “You’re safe,” the hand that had once been under her legs now moved through the small gap between her stomach and thighs to grip her waist lightly, “I’ve got you.”

“I’m sorry,” Darcy whimpered, her lips brushing against his warm skin.

His head moved a little as if he were trying to shake it in disagreement, “Nothin’ to be sorry for doll,” he reassured her, the thumb on her waist beginning to move in small circles.

Darcy said nothing in reply, just shifted her head a little so that she could still breathe. Every breath she took smelled of leather, rain, spice and something distinctly _Steve_ that she could never put her finger on. It was one of her favorite smells in the world.  She remembered the first time she met him she had been struck by how tall he was, how blue his eyes were, how nice his smile looked, the softness of his hair and the muscles that pulled and flexed every time he moved in his too-tight shirts. It wasn’t until later that she began to recognize his scent whenever he drew near to her, it became something soothing she sought out after a really bad day at work, or when she needed a sanity fix.

She was pretty sure he’d been convinced within the first few seconds of meeting her that she was crazy (“Are you and Thor related because _holy muscles batman_!” weren’t exactly the best first words to say to someone after all), but over time the two of them had become close. She became the person he would go to when he needed modern references explained, to the point that she took it upon herself to gently guide him through the pop culture references of each of the decades from the 40s to now.  He became the person she went to vent about the scientists in her care (because lo and behold, just as she’d suspected, she’d been quickly placed in charge of making sure Bruce and Tony were also fed, watered, walked and forced to sleep), he was the guy that she sought out whenever she needed a friendly face, or advice about something.

She was there for him when Bucky returned, and there when he needed a break from being stoic and acting like seeing Bucky so far gone didn’t tear him apart inside. She didn’t know how many times he’d held her in a similar position to this one as he let his emotions out. Sometimes in words, sometimes in silence, and once or twice she’d held him together as his tears finally broke through. She went out of her way to make Bucky feel at home here with the rest of them, knowing that if Bucky was safe and happy, Steve would be too. It had even become a favorite pass-time for her to do what she could to make Bucky smirk, smile or even laugh, and in turn Steve offered her hugs (Steve hugs were the _best_ ) and thank yous of various kinds (a particular favorite was Steve’s infamous pie).

Now, nearly three years after she’d moved into the Tower, (and two and a half years after Bucky had been found) she could say that she was close with all the Avengers, but with Steve the emotions were different. They shared glances across the room, sometimes communicating without words as they worked together to form an effective Avengers Wrangling Team (capital letters intended).  She had little awareness or respect for other people’s personal space, and while it had taken him some time to get used to her constant touching and hugging, he eventually started to timidly return the touches, even reaching out for hugs without her promptings.

She knew that Tony had a betting pool going about whether or not she and Steve were already together, and if they weren’t there were more bets about when they would get together and how. She also knew that Steve was aware and somewhat embarrassed about the whole thing, though she thought she had seen a spark of pleasure and something resembling longing when he’d found out. 

“When I was little,” Steve’s low voice broke into her thoughts, “I used to watch as all the neighborhood kids would go out and play in the puddles and the rain,” his head shifted until his lips were moving against her forehead as his hands continued their soothing movements, “I would beg Ma to let me go out and play with them but she would never allow it. I was always so sick that she was worried I’d catch pneumonia if I did, and so I was always stuck inside watching the other kids play.  One time Bucky figured out why I couldn’t go outside and play with him and his sisters when the rain was falling and he came inside to keep me company.  After that day anytime it rained Bucky would find his way over, day or night. He and I would camp out by the window in any given room and just watch as the rain flooded the streets, watched and joked about the kids who got to go outside and get wet.”

Darcy waited patiently as Steve paused to piece together the rest of his story. It had taken a long time for him to open up about his memories of the past, and she knew by now that whenever he did it was best to just listen and wait, “It wasn’t until our Army days that Bucky confessed that the real reason he kept me company during the storms was because the lightning scared him,” Steve finally continued, “The thunder didn’t bother him, but when lighting flashed…” he shook his head in amusement, “it scared the daylight outta him,” she could feel a faint smile on his lips against her forehead and she turned her face to nuzzle his neck for a moment, “Everyone has their fears Darce, it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Maybe,” Darcy agreed, “But everyone I know has fears that are a bit more…substantial,” she went on to list the fears she’d come up with before, “Tony’s scared of aliens and space, and rightfully so,” she murmured, “Natasha’s got this fear that she’ll either wake up one day to find out all of this was just a dream and she’s still in the Red Room, or that somehow she’ll revert to being a cold-blooded killer again.  Thor is terrified of the mythical Ragnorok, Clint’s scared of anything that has to do with mind control or _losing_ control, and Bruce of course is scared of the same for fear of the Other Guy. Pepper has to live in fear of accidentally blowing herself and others up, and Jane still has nightmares about the Aether and the end of the world vision she saw while under its control. Sam has this thing about letting his partners out of his sight when in combat and you and Bucky are both scared of being frozen again,” she shook her head as best she could with it being buried in his neck, “And I don’t even want to know what would make Fury or Maria tremble in fear,” she finished, “It just seems a little ridiculous to be afraid of…” she gestured to the weather outside, “a little _noise,_ when there are so many worse things to worry about.”

Steve took a deep breath and moved his lips to her temple where he pressed a soft kiss, “You’re right,” he told her and paused just long enough for a sting of hurt to squeeze her heart, “We are all afraid of those things,” he went on, allowing her to crush the hurt. There was a short pause during which Darcy found herself freeing one hand of its blanket prison to trace small indiscernible designs on his chest, “But Tony is also afraid of butterflies,” he stated a minute later after what seemed like a short internal debate, “and Thor is actually terrified of needles, Natasha has a fear of clowns and Clint is terrified of spiders. Pepper hates chewing gum, and as I’ve just said, Bucky hates lightning, though he is also wary of mice. Bruce hates cats, Sam is deathly afraid of snakes, and I—“ he cut himself off abruptly enough that Darcy caught on that whatever he’d been about to say was important.

Flinching a little at the lightning that flashed and the almost immediate thunder that followed, Darcy forced herself to take a few steady breaths to try and calm her heart beat down. She felt Steve’s hand brush through her hair, lightly tugging at the ends near her scalp to help her refocus on something else and a light moan vibrated through her throat. Startled and embarrassed to be caught making the sound Darcy opened her eyes and shifted a little, glancing outside at the downpour.

She felt his hand on her waist shift a little and barely contained the gasp that came when suddenly the warm callouses of his palm were pressed directly on the bare skin of her waist.  She felt him hesitate, unsure about his forward actions and she stilled, hoping not to discourage his movements. Freezing seemed to be the wrong move however, when she felt him begin to retract his hand. She silently caught his hand between both of hers and cradled it where it lay under her shirt pressed against her stomach, refusing to let it go.

“I didn’t know Tony was scared of butterflies,” she commented absently; really she was just trying to distract him from trying to pull away from her. It was the way their game was played she knew, one of them would take a step forward in their relationship and then half a step back when they worried they’d gone too far; then the other would take things a step further only to take a half step back once _they_ overthought their actions. It got them moving forward, but they moved at a snail’s pace.

She felt Steve hesitate to relax and knew it was more from his confusion at her immediate response to his step forward; normally it would take the other a day or two to react, but she’d only taken a second, “Neither did I until we were fighting those bots a few months back in the middle of the Park and he was practically swarmed by a few of them. He panicked and took off as if he were worried they’d somehow find their way into the Iron Man Suit and eat him alive.”

Darcy could hear the smile in his voice but she loved to _see_ his smile more, so she tilted her head up to look at him, taking in the handsome grin that showed less frequently than she would like. Her fingers absently began tracing over and through his, drawing patters and cataloguing every callus and scar as she contemplated the amused and affectionate expression on her friend’s face.

“What about you?” she murmured a few minutes later after a particularly loud crack of thunder that echoed in her bones, “What’s your irrational fear?” She knew from the way he’d cut himself off before that the question was obviously a sore spot, but she hadn’t been prepared for him to stiffen beneath her or for the tinge of pink that rose in his cheeks that didn’t quite match the panic in his eyes, “Steve?” she questioned softly, lifting one hand to cradle his jaw to make him look at her. When she saw just _how_ panicked he was she frowned, “You know you can tell me right? Or not,” she hurried to add, “You really don’t have to tell me if you don’t—“

“I’m constantly worried that I’m going to ruin this,” he blurted out over her words, seeming to surprise them both. When he said nothing else and simply stared at her, his eyes searching back and forth between hers, Darcy moved her thumb on  his cheekbone in small back and forth movements to try and calm him down. He licked his lips in a quick movement that caught her eye before he continued speaking, “I’m absolutely terrified that one of these days I’m going to push our…friendship too far and there won’t be any going back for us.”

Darcy swallowed as she tried to take in all the many different implications of what he’d just said from the look on his face to the hesitation on the use of the word friendship to describe their relationship. Taking a small leap she paused before asking, “Why would we want to go back?”

Steve stared at her in silence for a second before tearing his gaze from her to glance outside, forcing her to lower her hand from his jaw to his collarbone, “I was never good with dames like you Darce—girls!—women!— _women_ like you!” he stammered, “Smooth talking and flirting were Bucky’s skills, not mine. Whenever I would meet a…woman I liked…” his eyebrows furrowed and he looked down at her almost as if he couldn’t help himself, “I’d always find myself getting hopelessly tongue tied every time I tried to talk to them. But with you—“ he cut himself off again and moved to look away but Darcy stopped him.

Her hand returned to his face, moving his head so he was looking down at her, “Are you saying…” she paused, trying to decide if she really wanted to push the subject. Deciding they’d waited long enough she steeled her resolve and bluntly asked, “Steven Grant Rodgers, are you saying you want to date me?”

Dark blue eyes widened at her bluntness and his lips moved to form several different words while the fear and longing increased in his eyes until finally one word broke through his stupor, “Yes.”

But then his eyes widened even more and panic took over, “But not if you don’t want to date me!” he tried to back pedal, “I just mean that you’re beautiful and smart and amazing and any guy would be lucky to have you—beyond lucky…not that I would _have you,_ have you, I would just—“

Darcy interrupted his rambling by pulling his head down and pressing her lips against his. She forced herself to close her eyes and block out her own reservations and allowed the part of her that reveled in their closeness, in the spice and musk that was Steve Rodgers, in the taste of warm milk and honey that lingered on his breath to take over. She felt his body tense in surprise as her lips touched his, but after a moment the brief panic of holy-charazard-what-had-she-done-this-was-going-to-ruin-everything was soothed as she felt his body relax beneath hers and his lips part as he took control of the kiss. His hand in her hair took the opportunity to anchor her to him, holding her as if he were worried that she’d pull away; while the hand near her stomach turned in hers until his fingers laced with hers.

Taking a sharp breath through her nose in a desperate attempt to get more air without separating from this perfect moment (seriously, chick flick moments were forever ruined for her after this, because this? This was _Perfection_ ) she tilted her head to try and kiss him deeper, glad to finally have a way to release all the pent up emotions she’d felt towards this man since she’d met him. Steve must have suddenly remembered their mutual need to breathe for he began to pull back from their kiss.  She let out a small whine of protest as his lips parted from hers and only took a second to take a few deep breaths before diving back in.

Steve seemed a little startled at her reluctance to separate but he was more than willing to comply with her demand for more kisses. They kissed for who knew how long before Darcy felt him beginning to slow down, his kisses were no longer hard and nearly desperate but slow and soft as if he were trying to express how important and precious to him she was. Eventually he pulled away again, tilting his forehead to press against hers as they both gasped for breath. His grip on her hand and his hand in her hair didn’t try and move away like she’d momentarily worried would happen once he’d realized what they’d done. He seemed aware of her concern that he would retreat from her and he kept his grip on her solid and warm, offering her wordless assurances that he wasn’t leaving her anytime soon.

“Is that your way of telling me you feel the same way?” Steve inquired a moment later, his breath fanning over her face. The wonder and hope in his voice caused Darcy to open her eyes to take in his matching expression. The uncertainty in his eyes was masked by something warm and pleasant and it made her want to bury herself in his arms and never leave. Ever.

She blinked as his words processed with her and a small smile pulled on her lips. She shifted around in his lap a little until she was straddling him and lifted both hands to settle on his shoulders, “If you have to ask I must be doing something wrong,” she murmured.

A smile that she knew he only wore when looking at her appeared on his face and he pressed a quick kiss to her lips, “I might need a little more clarification,” he hummed back, his lips brushing against hers as he spoke. The hand in her hair moved slowly down her shoulder until it held her tightly to him at her waist. His forehead moved to press against her temple and his nose trailed softly across her cheek as he inhaled as if he were trying to memorize her smell in this moment.

Turning her head into his nuzzling Darcy smiled a little, “Sure,” she breathed, chills racing up and down her spine at the intimacy floating between them, “I’d be glad to help,” she tried to contain the gasp that escaped as Steve ducked forward to press a kiss just below her ear, “Anytime,” she squeaked.

She felt his lips curve into a smirk and turned her head to look at him. Blue eyes met blue and she tilted her head in inquisitiveness as she took in the openness in his gaze. She saw the affection, the amusement and longing in his eyes and uncovered some relief and hope there too.

“You’re not running away,” he commented softly.

Shaking her head she lifted her hand to comb through his hair, smiling a little as his eyes shut momentarily at her action, “Neither are you,” she replied with equal softness.

“This will change things,” he warned her, looking as if he were reluctant to tell her so but felt duty bound to caution her anyway.

“Finally,” she stated shaking her head with a grin, “I thought you’d—I didn’t think you would ever…” she trailed off and bit her lip as she tried to figure out what she was trying to say, “Sometimes I wondered if we would ever actually get here,” she finally settled on.

Steve’s gaze narrowed, “Exactly how long have you wanted to…do…this?” he winced at the slaughtered last words but held his ground.

Darcy smiled a little to reassure him, “Do what?” she replied, “Kiss you? Hug you? Be with you?” she hesitated, “Tell you I love you?”

Eyes widening, Steve’s hands flexed around her compulsively and he swallowed, “Any of that,” he stated, “All of that.”

“Well,” Darcy flicked her eyes unseeingly over his shoulder before refocusing on him, “I wanted to hug you the first time I met you,” she told him quietly, “I wanted to kiss you since that night we had the first Avengers Nerf War and we both decided to hide in that closet,” they both smiled at the memory and she felt his thumb on her waist trace absent circles on the bare skin he’d found there. It distracted her for a minute before she remembered what they were talking about, “I wanted to be with you after that invasion of the giant evil bunnies when you were actually hurt enough to agree to stay in Medical overnight. I wished I was with you like…a significant other so that I could have just as much reason to be there for you as Jane had to be there for Thor or Pepper for Tony.”

She paused and shifted a little on his lap so she could see his face better, “And I’ve wanted to tell you how much I love you since that time in the park when you helped those kids who lost their puppy by rescuing him from the rose bush the poor thing had gotten himself tangled up in,” she smiled a little at the memory and shrugged.

Steve was silent for a long time after that, just staring at her, watching her, “You mean to say,” he started but paused as if he couldn’t believe what he was about to say, “That you’ve been in love with me for nearly two _years_?” he waited for her acknowledging nod and shook his head in wonder, “Why didn’t you say anything?”

Lightning lit the room around them a little and thunder rocked the building a moment later, distracting Darcy momentarily. She forced away the tremble that followed the sound and shrugged, “Stuff just kept coming up and getting in the way. I didn’t want to push you into anything either. And I didn’t really know how you’d react. Our friendship is important to me,” she traced a finger along his hair line and down to his ear thoughtlessly, “I didn’t want to lose this by scaring you off or something.”

“Darcy,” Steve sighed, “I’ve…I’ve been in love with you for nearly as long,” he admitted, “Ever since that night you stayed up to help me with Bucky’s nightmares and fell asleep with your head in his lap and your feet in mine.”

Slowly nodding Darcy shrugged one shoulder, “I know,” she replied gently, “And I was just waiting for you to decide that you…loved me enough to tell me.”

“You knew,” he repeated dumbly, “You knew and you were just waiting for me to…” he sighed in exasperation, though she could tell it was aimed more at himself than at her, “If I’d thought it wouldn’t just ruin everything between us I would have told you how I felt a long time ago,” his voice was firm and almost desperate for her to believe him, “But I didn’t think…I wasn’t sure…I mean there were times when I wondered but,” he forced his mouth shut and shut his eyes for a second to gather his thoughts, “Having you as a friend and in my life was more important to me than anything else,” he finally managed to say, “I love you and I can’t lose you, but that’s what I worried would happen if I ever told you how I felt.”

Darcy brushed her thumb over one of his eyebrows with a soft smile, “Why do you think I didn’t say anything?” she tried to reassure him, “I’ve known how you felt about me for a while,” she admitted, “But I was content to just let you show me until you felt ready to tell me.”

“Show you,” Steve echoed in that same tone of voice as before, as if he couldn’t believe she’d just said those words.

“You showed me how you felt every day,” Darcy murmured, “Every time you smiled at me, or we’d have one of those silent conversations everyone always talks about, or whenever you gave me a foot rub or listened to me rant about Jane and the ScienceBros. You showed me when you bought me my favorite kind of coffee even though I never told you what it was, or when you make me my own Steve-Roger’s-pie. You’ve brought me flowers on more than one bad day, and you defend me whenever Tony gets unintentionally mean, you hide me when Clint is hunting me for revenge, you…” she hesitated before telling him the next part, “you let me help you and Bucky when no one else was allowed. You listen to me and treat me like more than just the Science Team Wrangler and every time you’d touch me…” she trailed off and offered him a small smile, and a mini shrug, “I just knew.”

His warm gaze tracked over her face, taking in every nuance and micro expression in the dim light, “And you just waited,” he commented softly.

“And it’s finally paid off,” she returned, leaning in to take his lips with hers for a few moments, “Though I wouldn’t mind hearing it every now and then to make up for the last while.”

Steve lifted his gaze from her lips and smiled at her, “That I can do,” he agreed, “Because I love you Darcy,” he kissed her briefly, “I love you,” he kissed her again, “I love you,” he dove in for another short kiss but Darcy grabbed the back of his head and held him to her, deepening his brief kisses into something deeper more passionate.

 She didn’t know how long they kissed this time before a loud throat clearing broke them apart, “Don’t mind me,” Bucky’s familiar voice floated over to them from the elevator, “go ahead and carry on; just thought I’d let you lovebirds know I was here is all.”

Darcy lifted her head and glanced over Steve’s shoulder to meet Bucky’s eyes in the dimness of the communal area. He winked at her and turned on some lights allowing to see that while Bucky was amused at their compromising position, he was more relieved and glad to see them together than anything else. A slow blush crept up her neck and she found herself inexplicably embarrassed. Intending to hide herself from Bucky’s view as much as possible she ducked her head and buried her face in the juncture between Steve’s shoulder and neck.

She felt more than heard Steve chuckle a little at her embarrassment but before she could come up with a witty retort, his low voice rumbled through his body in a very interesting way. Distracted by the vibrations she almost didn’t make out the actual words Steve had spoken, “Why are you up Buck?”

Steve’s hands pulled her tighter against him in a move that felt both protective and possessive and while some feminist part of Darcy felt she should do or say something about that, she found she really didn’t care. She felt loved and cherished in that moment, and she wasn’t going to let anything ruin that for her. Pulling her head away from Steve’s neck she watched Bucky shrug and make his way to the kitchen area.

“Lightning,” was all he said, but it was enough to remind Darcy with stunning clarity of the storm going on just outside the window. Almost as if nature itself agreed that it was time for her to remember why she was even up at this ungodly hour a bright flash of lighting streaked across the sky causing Bucky to tense and when the thunder followed seconds later Darcy yelped and jumped.

Bucky looked at her in surprise at the fearful sound she’d made and Darcy realized that he probably hadn’t realized that the storm bothered her as much as it bothered him, “You afraid of lightning too Doll?” he inquired.

Darcy shook her head, “Thunder,” she disagreed, “Have been since a kid.”

A slow reassuring smile pulled at Bucky’s lips and he nodded at her, “So you’re afraid of thunder, I’m afraid of lightning, between the two of us doesn’t that make an actual phobia?” he asked.

“Astraphobia,” she answered with a nod.

Bucky nodded too though he didn’t comment further about their apparently shared fear. After a minute or two had passed in silence Bucky looked up from where he stood making some sort of sandwich to wave a hand at her and Steve, “As you were,” he told them, “Don’t stop on my account.”

Darcy narrowed her eyes at him even as she felt Steve sigh in exasperation as he moved to place his head on her collarbone, “If I didn’t know any better Barnes, I’d think you were being a pervy voyeur.” Her mind was only half on the words she spoke, most of her attention was focused on how boneless Steve turned when she slid her fingers into his hair on the back of his head to hold him to her.

A mischievous grin that had only recently returned to the soldier’s face with any sort of ease appeared, “Oh, I’m not the voyeur here,” he shook his head and glanced up at one of the vents in the ceiling, “That would be Barton.”

Jaw dropping Darcy lifted her head to look at the vent indicated just in time to see Clint, clad in black pajama bottoms and a grey tank top, drop out of it, “Tell me you weren’t spying on us,” she ordered rising from Steve’s lap despite his protesting grip. As she found her footing on the ground Steve rose to stand just behind her shoulder as they looked at Clint.

“I wasn’t spying on you,” Clint stated, dusting off one of his shoulders, “I woke up about fifteen minutes ago and heard the storm, thought it was awesome and almost went back to bed but then I remembered your reaction to that storm in New Mexico,” his expression softened from the teasing look just moments before to an affectionate and sympathetic look as they both remembered the panic attack that resulted from the storm he mentioned, “And thought I would come and check on you.”

Darcy’s stance softened a little as she took in the honest concern Clint had for her. She turned a little and glanced up at Steve making him look curiously down at her. Silently she checked to see if he was alright with Clint having seen anything of their moment and when he shrugged and wrapped an arm around her shoulders she smiled and pressed a kiss to his chest right over his heart. Realizing that Clint and Bucky were still watching them she searched for a subject change and grinned internally when she found one.

Lifting the hand that wasn’t currently wrapped around Steve’s waist, she pointed at Clint’s shoulder, “You’ve got a spider on you,” she told him.

Clint jumped and his eyes widened in panic as his hands began to brush at every part of himself he could reach, “Where is it?” he yelped as he slapped himself. It took him a few seconds to realize that Darcy was laughing and then a few seconds more to take in the smirks of amusement on both Steve and Bucky’s faces. Realizing he’d been had he stopped his movements and frowned at Darcy, “That wasn’t very nice,” he grumbled.

Once Darcy had managed to regain her ability to speak without laughing she shook her head, “Neither is spying on private moments, so now we’re even.”

Narrowing his eyes Clint contemplated this. Whatever he was about to say though was cut off by Natasha as she appeared next to the breakfast bar, “You make it awfully hard to sleep when your yelping like that Barton,” she commented nonchalantly like she hadn’t just startled them all by appearing out of nowhere. Well, Darcy thought as she studied the unaffected expression on Bucky’s face, she’d startled most of them anyway.

More lightning flashed and Darcy barely had time to register Bucky’s flinch before jumping as the thunder boomed. Steve’s arm around her tightened and she curled herself into his chest for a moment to try and regain control over her breathing. She felt his lips press against the top of her head and took a deep slow breath.

The sound of the elevator doors sliding open and Tony’s voice speaking brought her attention back to the room and she turned in Steve’s arms to watch Tony and Bruce exit the elevator, “I’m just saying that a storm like this generates some serious power, if we could somehow—“ Tony stopped whatever he was saying as he took in the people in the Commons, “Well hello, what an unfortunate surprise to see all your ugly mugs at this late hour,” he narrowed his eyes and turned to Bruce who looked like he’d been kept from bed for too long against his will, “Or is it early hour?” he tilted his head as if actually pondering the question, “What hour is it anyway? JARVIS?”

“It is 3:27 sir,” JARVIS’s voice answered, surprising no one.

“Right,” Tony nodded as if he’d known this all along, “And everyone is still up because…?”

Clint shared a look with Natasha who raised an eyebrow at Bucky who glanced over at Steve who then shrugged a shoulder, “Darcy couldn’t sleep,” he answered surprising Darcy. She looked up at him, wondering why he would imply that they were all awake because she was.

Turning back to Tony to defend herself she found him watching her with an understanding look on his face, “That’s right,” he looked as if he remembered something, “You don’t like storms.”

Unsure about why her fear of storms was enough to get everyone else off the hook for Tony-teasing, Darcy just nodded. Tony took a deep breath and clapped his hands, the sound was loud in the quiet room, “Well then,” he started but was cut off by the elevator sliding open behind him.

Sam stepped out of the elevator, took one look around at the gathered Avengers and Darcy and shook his head to himself, “So, I’m thinking a Monty Python marathon,” he commented as if this happened frequently. He didn’t even hesitate to move past Tony and over to the communal movie watching area, “Anyone else down?”

Darcy smiled at Sam when he met her eye and winked, he was so good at just rolling with things. He’d become the only other sane person in the building Darcy could go and talk to when everyone else was being nuts; even Steve sometimes had his moments of Avenger-Crazy. More often than not he helped her to corral the crazies when she couldn’t do it herself or Steve’s help simply wasn’t enough. This was just one more instance of him taking in the situation and defusing it with excellent precision.

“Monty Python sounds awesome,” Darcy agreed, taking Steve’s hand and pulling him behind her to where Sam stood in front of the huge screen with a remote.

“I swear to whatever god exists that isn’t Norse in origin,” Jane’s annoyed voice declared as she suddenly entered the room, seeming similarly unimpressed to find everyone else still up, “If someone doesn’t go calm my fiancé down right now, I am going to blow something up. Something important.”

Steve turned to her in concern, “Is Thor alright?” he questioned.

Jane scowled, “He’s giddy as a school girl. He loves storms like this,” she gestured to the weather outside, “If I didn’t know any better I’d say he was ramping it up and encouraging it to continue!” she moved around one of the couches and plopped herself down with her arms crossed in frustration, “Makes it really hard to sleep when he’s so eager his nose is pressed against the glass to watch the lightning storm.”

Darcy didn’t see the lightning this time, but she did see Bucky flinch and that was enough for her to brace for the thunder. It followed a moment later and she managed to contain a surprised yelp, but not the small whimper. Steve’s hand moved to her back to smooth up and down her spine soothingly, “I’ll go talk to him,” he decided. He turned to her and pressed a kiss to her lips before moving towards the elevator.

Silence descended on the group and it only took a second for Darcy to realize why. Everyone was staring at her, and with the exception of Clint, Bucky and Natasha, all of them seemed surprised by something. She frowned at them all and pointed a finger at Tony, “Not a word!” she jabbed at him, “This is new for both of us and if any one of you screws this up for me,” she looked meaningfully at them all, “I will make everyone one of your lives miserable,” she stares warningly around the room, “Do we understand one another?”

Sam grinned and she could tell he was holding back and amused chuckle when everyone one else nodded solemnly at her warning. She zeroed in on Tony as he opened his mouth daring him to continue. He seemed to contemplate the pros and cons of what he was about to say before deciding it was worth it, “So is this something new or…?” he trailed off. He was obviously fishing and she could only guess that it was for the betting pool she knew he’d set up.

“You owe Sam, Bucky and Maria two hundred each,” she answered his question, letting him know she was fully aware of the betting pool, “Clint also gets fifty because of his bet that we wouldn’t be able to keep it secret once we got together—not that we’d want to—and Bruce gets another three hundred because, yes, I did know about the pool, and yes, I do know what you’ve been saying about my relationship with Steve,” she gave Bruce a quick wink and a conspiring smile.

Bruce smirked back and watched Tony narrow his eyes at her, “Well played Lewis,” he nodded, “well played.”

Darcy went to say something to him but her eyes caught on Bucky as he clenched his fist and she knew to prepare for the thunder. Thankfully it took a while for the thunder to follow as that meant the storm was moving on finally, but when it did she jumped and her arms curled around herself instinctively. Bucky had set down whatever he’d been playing with on the counter seconds after the lightning came and he reached her side almost before she’d curled in on herself.

“Hey there Doll,” he murmured, “you’re safe here,” he pulled her into his arms as he spoke.

Letting Bucky hold her and try to comfort her, she took several steadying deep breaths, “I’m fine,” she murmured a moment later as she pulled back from him.

Bucky smirked down at her and nodded, “You are,” he agreed, “You’re surrounded by the Avengers in one of the safest buildings on the planet, you’ve survived worse than a thunderstorm.”

She rolled her eyes at him, “It would just be nice not to be in the building that is being constantly struck by lightning,” she commented.

“That’s what I was saying,” Tony stated loudly as if she’d made a point for him, “With how frequently the building is being hit there has to be some way to harvest the power from the lightning for our use.”

Jane looked up, seeming intrigued, “What if you use the…” and Darcy zoned them out. She loved watching them work, especially when they got along, but at three thirty in the morning she didn’t really care to listen to their science babble. From the expression on Bruce’s face as he pinched his nose and sighed, he didn’t either.

Darcy smiled encouragingly at him and moved to take a seat in one of the armchairs that surrounded the large screen tv. She looked up when the unmistakable sound of Thor’s footsteps pounded out of the elevator.

“My apologies Lady Darcy,” Thor sounded sincere and apologetic, and as she turned to see his face she found him looking chastised, “I had no idea storms frightened you or I would not have encouraged it to continue as I did.”

Blinking as she realized what he meant, Darcy shrugged a shoulder and offered her blonde god friend a reassuring smile, “No worries HammerTime,” she fluttered her hand his way, “I’ll just be glad when it’s over.”

Thor nodded solemnly, “The storm hastens on even now,” he told her, “It will not be long before it has gone completely.”

Darcy thanked him with a yawn, feeling the adrenaline from the storm leaving her system. She vaguely heard Sam tell everyone he was starting the movie and heard the commotion around her as people moved for seats. She blearily blinked up at Steve as he appeared in front of her and she said nothing when he lifted her from the seat to cuddle her to his chest as he sat back down with her in his lap.

“You can sleep now if you want,” he murmured in her ear, his warm breath sending shivers down her spine.

She hummed and turned to snuggle into his arms a little more, “Thanks for keeping me company,” she mumbled already half asleep.

She felt his chuckle more than heard it, “Anytime doll,” he replied, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head.

“Love you,” she added before she forgot.

He seemed to melt further into the chair at her words, “Love you to Darce,” Steve returned as his grip around her tightened, “Now sleep.”

And she did. Surrounded by the world’s best and bravest superheroes, in probably the safest building on the planet, Darcy let the feeling of safety and comfort lull her into a comfortable and dreamless sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this little oneshot. At one point I got some serious beginning Steve/Darcy/Bucky vibes from this story when I was writing it, and someday I may continue in that vein, but for now I think I'll just leave our Steve and Darcy right where they are!
> 
> Let me know what you thought and leave a comment down below!


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